Maṇḍalas And Yantras In The Hindu Traditions

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Maṇḍalas and Yantras in the Hindu Traditions

Gudrun Bühnemann
Ma alas and Yantras in the Hindu Traditions Book PDF

Author : Gudrun Bühnemann
Publisher : BRILL
Page : 339 pages
File Size : 40,6 Mb
Release : 2021-11-15
Category : History
ISBN : 9789004492370

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Maṇḍalas and Yantras in the Hindu Traditions by Gudrun Bühnemann Pdf

In recent years maṇḍalas have attracted much interest among a wider public. The main focus of such interest has been directed toward Tibetan maṇḍalas, specimens of which have been included in numerous publications. But maṇḍalas are found across a wide spectrum of South Asian religious traditions, including those of the Hindus and Jains. Hindu maṇḍalas and yantras have hardly been researched. This book attempts to fill this gap by clarifying important aspects of maṇḍalas and yantras in specific Hindu traditions through investigations by renowned specialists in the field. Its chapters explore maṇḍalas and yantras in the Smārta, Pāñcarātra, Śaiva and Śākta traditions. An essay on the vāstupuruṣamaṇḍala and its relationship to architecture is also included. With 13 colour plates.

I, Yantra

Signe Cohen
I Yantra Book PDF

Author : Signe Cohen
Publisher : State University of New York Press
Page : 325 pages
File Size : 52,7 Mb
Release : 2024-02-01
Category : History
ISBN : 9781438496634

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I, Yantra by Signe Cohen Pdf

What does it mean to be human? I, Yantra examines ancient Indian narratives about robots and mechanically constructed beings to explore how their Hindu, Jain, and Buddhist authors approached this question. Making translations of many of these texts available in English for the first time, author Signe Cohen argues that they shed considerable light on South Asian religious notions of humanity, self, and agency. She also documents connections between ancient and modern responses to the ethical problems of what precisely constitutes a sentient being and what rights such a being should have. Situated at the intersection of humanities and bioethics, this cross-disciplinary study will be of interest to scholars of South Asian languages and literature as well as specialists in religion and technology.

Sinister Yogis

David Gordon White
Sinister Yogis Book PDF

Author : David Gordon White
Publisher : University of Chicago Press
Page : 376 pages
File Size : 43,6 Mb
Release : 2010-07-15
Category : Religion
ISBN : 9780226895154

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Sinister Yogis by David Gordon White Pdf

Since the 1960s, yoga has become a billion-dollar industry in the West, attracting housewives and hipsters, New Agers and the old-aged. But our modern conception of yoga derives much from nineteenth-century European spirituality, and the true story of yoga’s origins in South Asia is far richer, stranger, and more entertaining than most of us realize. To uncover this history, David Gordon White focuses on yoga’s practitioners. Combing through millennia of South Asia’s vast and diverse literature, he discovers that yogis are usually portrayed as wonder-workers or sorcerers who use their dangerous supernatural abilities—which can include raising the dead, possession, and levitation—to acquire power, wealth, and sexual gratification. As White shows, even those yogis who aren’t downright villainous bear little resemblance to Western assumptions about them. At turns rollicking and sophisticated, Sinister Yogis tears down the image of yogis as detached, contemplative teachers, finally placing them in their proper context.

Atonement and Comparative Theology

Catherine Cornille
Atonement and Comparative Theology Book PDF

Author : Catherine Cornille
Publisher : Fordham University Press
Page : 320 pages
File Size : 41,7 Mb
Release : 2021-09-07
Category : Religion
ISBN : 9780823294374

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Atonement and Comparative Theology by Catherine Cornille Pdf

The central Christian belief in salvation through the suffering, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ remains one of the most intractable mysteries of Christian faith. Throughout history, it has given rise to various theories of atonement, many of which have been subject to critique as they no longer speak to contemporary notions of evil and sin or to current conceptions of justice. One of the important challenges for contemporary Christian theology thus involves exploring new ways of understanding the salvific meaning of the cross. In Atonement and Comparative Theology, Christian theologians with expertise in Judaism, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, Daoism, and African Religions reflect on how engagement with these traditions sheds new light on the Christian understanding of atonement by pointing to analogous structures of sin and salvation, drawing attention to the scandal of the cross as seen by the religious other, and re-interpreting aspects of the Christian understanding of atonement. Together, they illustrate the possibilities for comparative theology to deepen and enrich Christian theological reflection.

Illness and Immortality

Patricia Sauthoff
Illness and Immortality Book PDF

Author : Patricia Sauthoff
Publisher : Oxford University Press
Page : 241 pages
File Size : 43,5 Mb
Release : 2022-01-18
Category : Medical
ISBN : 9780197553268

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Illness and Immortality by Patricia Sauthoff Pdf

Illness and Immortality examines a medieval Sanskrit text, the Netra Tantra, which is devoted to health and healing through a yogic practice dedicated to the chanting of mantras, the building of mandalas, and meditation. Patricia Sauthoff examines the role of such ritual elements in rites to alleviate illness and death. She includes analysis of the various forms of the deity Amrtesa or Mrtyuñjaya (Conqueror of Death), the nature of mantra, and the relationship between the tantric practitioner and the patient. This work explores what is meant by immortality within the medieval context and how one goes about attaining it. It asks how ritual alleviates illness, what role the deity plays in health and healing, and finally who has access to the rites described within the text. Central to this study is the conception of a body vulnerable to demons and reliant on deities for continued existence, and how the three yogic bodies (sthula, suksma, and para) play a role in physical and spiritual well-being. Featuring new translations of large sections of the Netra Tantra, the book offers readers various points of entry into the text so that tantric practitioners and scholars alike can access the influential and important concepts and practices found within this long-revered but under-studied work.

Objects of Worship in South Asian Religions

Knut A. Jacobsen,Mikael Aktor,Kristina Myrvold
Objects of Worship in South Asian Religions Book PDF

Author : Knut A. Jacobsen,Mikael Aktor,Kristina Myrvold
Publisher : Routledge
Page : 222 pages
File Size : 44,6 Mb
Release : 2014-08-27
Category : Social Science
ISBN : 9781317675952

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Objects of Worship in South Asian Religions by Knut A. Jacobsen,Mikael Aktor,Kristina Myrvold Pdf

Objects of worship are an aspect of the material dimension of lived religion in South Asia. The omnipresence of these objects and their use is a theme which cuts across the religious traditions in the pluralistic religious culture of the region. Divine power becomes manifest in the objects and for the devotees they may represent power regardless of religious identity. This book looks at how objects of worship dominate the religious landscape of South Asia, and in what ways they are of significance not just from religious perspectives but also for the social life of the region. The contributions to the book show how these objects are shaped by traditions of religious aesthetics and have become conceptual devices woven into webs of religious and social meaning. They demonstrate how the objects have a social relationship with those who use them, sometimes even treated as being alive. The book discusses how devotees relate to such objects in a number of ways, and even if the objects belong to various traditions they may attract people from different communities and can also be contested in various ways. By analysing the specific qualities that make objects eligible for a status and identity as living objects of worship, the book contributes to an understanding of the central significance of these objects in the religious and social life of South Asia. It will be of interest to students and scholars of Religious Studies and South Asian Religion, Culture and Society.

The Ubiquitous Siva

John Nemec
The Ubiquitous Siva Book PDF

Author : John Nemec
Publisher : Oxford University Press
Page : 448 pages
File Size : 50,9 Mb
Release : 2011-08-01
Category : Religion
ISBN : 9780199795543

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The Ubiquitous Siva by John Nemec Pdf

John Nemec examines the beginnings of the non-dual tantric philosophy of the famed Pratyabhij?a or "Recognition [of God]" School of tenth-century Kashmir, the tradition most closely associated with Kashmiri Shaivism. In doing so it offers, for the very first time, a critical edition and annotated translation of a large portion of the first Pratyabhij?a text ever composed, the Sivadrsti of Somananda. In an extended introduction, Nemec argues that the author presents a unique form of non-dualism, a strict pantheism that declares all beings and entities found in the universe to be fully identical with the active and willful god Siva. This view stands in contrast to the philosophically more flexible panentheism of both his disciple and commentator, Utpaladeva, and the very few other Saiva tantric works that were extant in the author's day. Nemec also argues that the text was written for the author's fellow tantric initiates, not for a wider audience. This can be adduced from the structure of the work, the opponents the author addresses, and various other editorial strategies. Even the author's famous and vociferous arguments against the non-tantric Hindu grammarians may be shown to have been ultimately directed at an opposing Hindu tantric school that subscribed to many of the grammarians' philosophical views. Included in the volume is a critical edition and annotated translation of the first three (of seven) chapters of the text, along with the corresponding chapters of the commentary. These are the chapters in which Somananda formulates his arguments against opposing tantric authors and schools of thought. None of the materials made available in the present volume has ever been translated into English, apart from a brief rendering of the first chapter that was published without the commentary in 1957. None of the commentary has previously been translated into any language at all.

Goddess Traditions in Tantric Hinduism

Bjarne Wernicke Olesen
Goddess Traditions in Tantric Hinduism Book PDF

Author : Bjarne Wernicke Olesen
Publisher : Routledge
Page : 244 pages
File Size : 53,6 Mb
Release : 2015-09-16
Category : Social Science
ISBN : 9781317585213

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Goddess Traditions in Tantric Hinduism by Bjarne Wernicke Olesen Pdf

Hinduism cannot be understood without the Great Goddess and the goddess-orientated Śākta traditions. The Goddess pervades Hinduism at all levels, from aniconic village deities to high-caste pan-Hindu goddesses to esoteric, tantric goddesses. Nevertheless, the highly influential tantric forms of South Asian goddess worship have only recently begun to draw scholarly attention. This book addresses the increasing interest in the Great Goddess and the tantric traditions of India by exploring the history, doctrine and practices of the Śākta tantric traditions. The highly influential tantric forms of South Asian goddess worship form a major part of what is known as ‘Śāktism’, and is often considered one of the major branches of Hinduism next to Śaivism, Vaiṣṇavism and Smārtism. Śāktism is, however, less clearly defined than the other major branches, and the book looks at the texts of the Śākta traditions that constitute the primary sources for gaining insights into the Śākta religious imaginative, ritual practices and history. It provides an historical exploration of distinctive Indian ways of imagining God as Goddess, and surveys the important origins and developments within Śākta history, practice and doctrine in its diversity. Bringing together contributions from some of the foremost scholars in the field of tantric studies, the book provides a platform for the continued research into Hindu goddesses, yoga, and tantra for those interested in understanding the religion and culture in South Asia.

Hindu Gods in an American Landscape

E. Allen Richardson
Hindu Gods in an American Landscape Book PDF

Author : E. Allen Richardson
Publisher : McFarland
Page : 234 pages
File Size : 40,6 Mb
Release : 2018-11-15
Category : Religion
ISBN : 9781476632612

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Hindu Gods in an American Landscape by E. Allen Richardson Pdf

 In India, Hindu images have been cast for millennia through the lost wax process and brought to life by priests—becoming not merely venerated icons but actual embodiments of gods. Second and third generation Hindu Americans have increasingly adopted a more worldly perspective toward religious objects, viewing them as symbolic rather than actual presences of the deity. The author traces the origins of this important shift, and examines Western attitudes regarding sacred objects, as well as the complex layering of traditional and modern Hindu attitudes in a globalized world.

Music and Temple Ritual in South India

William Tallotte
Music and Temple Ritual in South India Book PDF

Author : William Tallotte
Publisher : Taylor & Francis
Page : 293 pages
File Size : 54,5 Mb
Release : 2022-12-30
Category : Music
ISBN : 9781000829259

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Music and Temple Ritual in South India by William Tallotte Pdf

Music and Temple Ritual in South India: Performing for Śiva documents the musical practices of the periya mēḷam, a South Indian instrumental ensemble of professional musicians who perform during the rituals and festivals of high-caste (Brahmanical) Tamil Hindu temples dedicated to the Pan-Indian god Śiva – an important patron of music since at least the tenth century. It explores the ways in which music and ritual are mutually constitutive, illuminating the cultural logics whereby performing and listening are integral to the kinetic, sensory and affective experiences that enable, shape and stimulate ritual communication in present-day devotional Hinduism. More than a rich and vivid ethnographic description of a local tradition, the book also develops a comprehensive and original analytical model, in which music is understood as both a situated and creative activity, and where the fluid relationship between humans and non-humans, in this case divine beings, is truly taken into consideration.

Transformations and Transfer of Tantra in Asia and Beyond

István Keul
Transformations and Transfer of Tantra in Asia and Beyond Book PDF

Author : István Keul
Publisher : Walter de Gruyter
Page : 545 pages
File Size : 46,6 Mb
Release : 2012-01-27
Category : Religion
ISBN : 9783110258110

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Transformations and Transfer of Tantra in Asia and Beyond by István Keul Pdf

The essays in this volume, written by specialists working in the field of tantric studies, attempt to trace processes of transformation and transfer that occurred in the history of tantra from around the seventh century and up to the present. The volume gathers contributions on South Asia, Tibet, China, Mongolia, Japan, North America, and Western Europe by scholars from various academic disciplines, who present ongoing research and encourage discussion on significant themes in the growing field of tantric studies. In addition to the extensive geographical and temporal range, the chapters of the volume cover a wide thematic area, which includes modern Bengali tantric practitioners, tantric ritual in medieval China, the South Asian cults of the mother goddesses, the way of Buddhism into Mongolia, and countercultural echoes of contemporary tantric studies.

Domestic Mandala

John Gray
Domestic Mandala Book PDF

Author : John Gray
Publisher : Routledge
Page : 182 pages
File Size : 47,7 Mb
Release : 2017-03-02
Category : Social Science
ISBN : 9781351943123

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Domestic Mandala by John Gray Pdf

A rich and fascinating ethnography of domestic architecture and activities among the high caste Chhetris of Kholagaun in Nepal, this book focuses on the spatial organization, everyday activities and ritual performances that generate and display Chhetri houses as 'mandalas', sacred diagrams that are both maps of the cosmos and machines for revelation. Describing the orientation and layout of the Chhetri house and surrounding compound; it shows how the orientation and distribution of everyday social activities with the domestic mandala shape people's experience of the enigmas of their lifeworld as householders; and analyses the double significance of rituals that take place in the domestic mandala. By treating the Nepali house as more than just the background of people's everyday life, the author reveals the Chhetri everyday lifeworld as a revelation of Hindu tantric cosmology, its enigmatic illusion, and the path to liberation from it. The themes addressed in the book make a unique contribution to the fields of anthropology, architecture and human geography.

The Visual Music Film

Aimee Mollaghan
The Visual Music Film Book PDF

Author : Aimee Mollaghan
Publisher : Springer
Page : 216 pages
File Size : 55,6 Mb
Release : 2016-01-23
Category : Performing Arts
ISBN : 9781137492821

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The Visual Music Film by Aimee Mollaghan Pdf

Adopting an interdisciplinary approach, The Visual Music Film explores the concept and expression of musicality in the visual music film, in which visual presentations are given musical attributes such as rhythmical form, structure and harmony.

Urban India

Renate Bornberg
Urban India Book PDF

Author : Renate Bornberg
Publisher : Springer Nature
Page : 330 pages
File Size : 46,9 Mb
Release : 2023-03-03
Category : Science
ISBN : 9783031237379

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Urban India by Renate Bornberg Pdf

This book discusses the importance of socio-spatial patterns in cities that are embedded in the cultural heritage and self-understanding of a society, showing that Indian cities follow different urban concepts. In nine episodes (nine is a sacred figure), it highlights the principal influences and social impacts on cities from ancient times to contemporary city developments. As such, it provides planners and architects with insights that can easily be applied in contemporary cities and towns and help foster India’s cultural heritage—a much-needed, but little-discussed approach. Indian cities are the result of various factors, some imposed, others following local traditions that shaped them. They were founded around social needs, landscape conditions and production routines, as well as the religious influences of Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, Sikhism, Islam, Christianity and animism. However, Western town-planning models are often implemented, blurring the traditional way of life in cities. For sustainable town development, it is of key importance to find solutions that deal with Indian city models.

Consecration Rituals in South Asia

István Keul
Consecration Rituals in South Asia Book PDF

Author : István Keul
Publisher : BRILL
Page : 405 pages
File Size : 42,8 Mb
Release : 2017-02-06
Category : Religion
ISBN : 9789004337183

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Consecration Rituals in South Asia by István Keul Pdf

The essays in the volume Consecration Rituals in South Asia address the ritual procedures that accompany the installation of temple images in Shaiva, Vaishnava, Buddhist and Jain contexts, in various traditions and historical periods.